CAMS study plan

Define money laundering and terrorist financing and distinguish their core objectives, funding sources, and detection signals

Sequence the three stages of money laundering and place at least three concrete techniques under each stage

Identify the main categories of predicate offenses and explain why the list varies by jurisdiction

List sector-specific and product-specific vulnerabilities (cash-intensive businesses, correspondent banking, prepaid access, trade, virtual assets) and rank them by inherent risk

Apply a simple likelihood-by-impact risk-scoring method to five short written scenarios

Classify 15 written fact patterns into laundering typologies (structuring, smurfing, trade-based, shell company, third-party payment) with a stated reason for each classification

Explain how terrorist financing differs from money laundering in amounts, timing, and fund origin, and name two detection implications

Describe the risk-based approach and justify why a purely rules-based approach creates both over- and under-control

Define the core elements of an AML/CTF program and match each element to the risk it addresses

Identify the role and independence requirements of the designated compliance officer

Draft the skeleton of a written AML/CTF program containing policies, procedures, internal controls, and a governance structure with named accountability

Build a customer risk-rating model using at least four weighted factors (customer type, geography, product, channel) and test it on six profiles

Sequence the customer due diligence process from identification through verification, ongoing monitoring, and recordkeeping

Differentiate simplified, standard, and enhanced due diligence and state the trigger conditions for each

Specify what records must be retained, for how long, and who may access them

Trace beneficial ownership through a three-layer corporate structure and identify the controlling person in each case

Apply enhanced due diligence requirements to politically exposed persons, including family members and close associates

Explain the risk factors and required controls for correspondent banking, nested accounts, and payable-through accounts

Design a training program with audience tiers, cadence, content outline, and a completion-tracking measure

Outline an independent testing plan covering scope, sampling, frequency, and reporting lines

Describe the alert-to-case workflow from automated monitoring through triage, investigation, escalation, and disposition

Draft written investigation questions that separate suspicious activity from legitimate activity for three sample alerts

Explain when a suspicious activity or transaction report is required and what information the narrative must convey

Identify the prohibitions and protections around tipping off and confidentiality

List the documentation an investigator must retain to support a filing or a no-action decision

Assess monitoring scenarios and threshold settings, and explain why tuning reduces both false positives and gaps

Plan an investigation that requires documentary review, transaction tracing, and open-source or public-record research

Evaluate evidence quality by distinguishing direct, circumstantial, and unreliable sources in a written case

Recommend remediation actions for control failures uncovered during a review, tied to root cause

Explain how law enforcement requests and information-sharing mechanisms fit into the investigation lifecycle

Summarize the expectations set by international standard-setters for national AML/CTF regimes and for financial institutions

Differentiate binding legal requirements from non-binding guidance and describe how each shapes institutional policy

Explain the role of supervisory examination, including how examiners sample files, test training, and assess governance

Map five regulatory expectations to the specific program elements that satisfy them

Identify the enforcement consequences of program failures and the elements of an effective remedial plan

Consolidate all four domains into a single one-page master outline organized by risk, program, investigation, and regulation

Complete a full-length timed practice exam under test conditions and record the score by domain

Diagnose the two weakest domains from practice results and re-study only the missed concepts

Convert every repeatedly missed item into a flashcard with a rule, an example, and a distractor explanation

Rehearse scenario questions where the correct answer depends on risk-based judgment rather than a fixed rule